Westland restaurant to pay $50,000 for denying service to family

May 8, 2013

Written by

Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

A Westland restaurant has agreed to pay a mother and her children $50,000 for asking them to leave because one of the daughters had a blistering skin disorder that was making customers uncomfortable.

According to the settlement announced Wednesday by U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, the Golden Corral buffet-style restaurant also will pay $10,000 in civil penalties to the U.S. The incident happened in 2011, triggering a Justice Department lawsuit.

According to the suit, a manager at the Golden Corral restaurant demanded that Danielle Duford and her four daughters leave the restaurant during a dinner outing because of the appearance of one of the children’s skin. The child, the suit said, has a genetic skin disorder known as epidermolysis bullosa, which causes blisters to form on the skin in response to minor injuries and temperature changes.

Duford tried to explain to the manager that her children have a genetic disability, not a contagious disease, but the manager required the family to immediately leave the restaurant, claiming other customers had complained, the suit said.

The manager’s act, the government argued, was a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act, which prohibits public accommodations such as restaurants from discriminating against people on the basis of disability, or their association with an individual with a disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods or services offered.

U.S. District Judge Stephen J. Murphy III must approve the settlement, which also requires that the restaurant develop and maintain a nondiscrimination policy that teaches staff about the ADA.

“We hope that today’s settlement will help prevent discrimination based on unfounded fears by raising awareness of the duties to accommodate individuals with less common disabilities,” McQuade said.

Added Eve Hill, senior counselor to the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division:

“No one should be excluded from participating in the basic activities of daily living on account of fears of their disability, nor should children be shamed from going out in public. ... We are confident today’s settlement sends that message.”